My LMS adventure

May 31, 2016 - Started chemotherapy again. Last treatment was last July, I think. I moved into my new home while bald.... and I'll be bald again when the snowbirds return this year. With Doxirubicin, there are more blogs and discussions about it. It's been used on breast cancer for a long time. Here are some example I found. Denise4health Blog At the bottom of her blog, there are links to other posts she's made about her regimen. Caitlin Marcoux Blog I love the staff at the infusion center. They are remodeling the waiting room, so 60% or so of it is sectioned off with plastic sheeting to prevent dust. The TV is still tuned to Fox News. When I got there, I remembered the comments from my friends and doctor.... eat everything that makes you happy. In the waiting room, they've got juice dispensers (grape and orange juice) I drank two Styrofoam coffee cups of grape juice. Wow, I'd forgotten how good it tastes. Regarding the orange juice, this i...

Tomorrow morning, I start with Doxirubicin infusion. I'll be getting it every three weeks. The oncologist didn't mention how long I'd be on this. This medication has much research, since it started out with breast cancer. There are now more effective treatments for breast cancer, just as there will be more effective treatments for LMS in the future. I'll be losing my hair. (so I saved some money by not trimming my hair. ) The goal is no longer to cure, but to control the uLMS. It spread to the liver (9 cm X 9 cm x 6 cm.) I'm avoiding wearing belts... it just makes my stomach uncomfortable. It seems that a small amount fills it. When I suck my abdomen in, it feels full... and awkward. According to my oncologist, there are still some options after this treatment. Meanwhile, I have an appointment to pay for cremation. Then when the time comes, everything will be handled. I haven't had a TV for several years. The technology changed, I'm ...

The logic goes like this.... We are eating/breathing/touching too many chemicals, and the chemicals cause cancer. So change your diet, eat this healthy thing, or follow that treatment, and you'll be cured. Coffee enemas. Now when I couldn't get caffeine via mouth, it was tempting to try a coffee enema. However, I didn't expect it to cure me. Some of the cancer patients have died taking these treatments. Of course, chemotherapy patients may also die. I choose to take the medically recommended treatment. I'll eventually die also, but I want as much information relayed to the future oncologists. http://www.mamamia.com.au/wellness-warrior-jess-ainscough-died-aged-30/ http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2015/12/10/starbutts-or-how-is-it-still-a-thing-that-people-are-shooting-coffee-up-their-nether-regions/

The waiting is over. Yesterday the nurse called with the results. The Liver mass is LMS and an appointment was scheduled. That's where I'm sitting now. I'm knitting, to relax and to pass the time. Soon I'll know. I'll call Mom, my daughter, my friends, my roommate. I hope this will be a short appointment. The kidney/back pain needs an RX or permission for me to keep taking Advil (or generic). The next step for treatment is Chemo. Doxyrubicin aka the Red Devil. I can only have 6 doses in a lifetime. First step is a cardiac ultrasound to measure Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction. (That is, how efficiently my heart is moving blood out of the Left Ventricle.) One side effect of this medication is sudden death due to heart attack, due to damage to the left ventricle. So they want a health LV to start, or (I suppose) they would find another treatment option. (10/13/2016 I wrote this while waiting for the oncologist appointment. Just found this in a noteb...

Lately, my abdomen feels odd.... Now realize, I'm a 55 year old woman, I carried a child to full term. I've carried an extra 40 pounds for most of my adult life. I know what fat feels like... when I touch my stomach, the fat feels.... like dead meat. There's no feeling there. Tomorrow is the needle biopsy of my liver, so I went to the website to re-read the instructions. As long as I was on the website, I figured I'd re-read the latest office visit note. That's where I read, " Large heterogeneous necrotic and enhancing mass in the R hepatic lobe (8 x 8 x 6cm), increased since prior CT but present on recent PET/CT." I should have paid better attention to metrics. My yard stick is old... errr.. antique --- no metric measurements. So I google it. (of course). Eight cm equals inches. Okay, not a great search... got some answers for how many cms in 8 inches. And then I found the answer. Slightly over three inches. wait. Three inches. That ...

This week for the first time since recovery from chemo and the surgery, I felt sick. I made some progress this week, also, so a status report seems appropriate. Where I am: Currently 17 months since original diagnosis, I've not worked for one year. My energy levels are low. I can make a list and knock items off the list, but also leave many things undone. I manage my frustrations by ignoring what is not getting done. -- which works well for my roommate also... I'm not nagging him to install the new thermostat, or re-box and store his belongings in the living room. Dishes accumulate in the sink, until they hit critical mass, then I unload the dishwasher (yep, that's the wrong way to do it...if I want the kitchen to be tidy.) Generally I stay caught up with laundry, but got behind this week and needed to re-wash some clothes. I started to figure out how to make the TVs work (two older TVs... one with a DVD player, one with a VHS player...is my dream.... at this po...

So my case was discussed at the Tumor Board this morning. I'll be having a liver biopsy in a couple weeks. The waiting is over. I'm going to put on my swimsuit and head to the pool. I know that with a few new holes in my body, I'll have to skip the pool after the biopsy. I read what to expect with the biopsy... doesn't sound like fun, but at least it is quick. Pool time.